User blog:TheRealG3rMan/TSFIA: Dive Into Hell! Meet the Divers.
I know I said that the next article I post will be the short story itself, but I couldn't help but jump into photoshop after being away for so long. The story has definitely inspired me to make some visuals that would go great in a visual novel, but I don't feel like making another Divergence Chronicles given the time I have (or lack thereof). I figured I would take this opportunity to not just show off the art but also introduce the characters. Warrant Officer Vinh Trang Helldivers.png|Chief Warrant Officer Vinh Trang, a technical genius but relatively inexperienced in piloting a TSF. Second Lieutenant Ash West Helldivers.png|2nd Lieutenant Ash West, one of the few survivors of Operation Iceberg. Our two protagonists make up a combined TSF Element in the USSC's 1st Space Wing, 47th Special Operations Aviation Group, and members of the 1st Squadron of the Helldivers. Helldivers are part of a small force of Orbital Divers that are trained to specifically infiltrate hostile human territory and engage in unconventional warfare in order to demoralize and debilitate the enemy's physical capability and mental will to fight. This kind of use for Orbital Divers was imagined fairly early on in the USSC's creation but the war with the BETA at first saw the application of ODs against other nations as a waste of resources. In 1982, the idea of using Orbital Divers against human adversaries was revived following the famous US Army Major General Ben Brugg declaring that war with the BETA would eventually end with the development of 2nd and 3rd generation TSF craft and that war between humans was again inevitable. Despite this, the only combat experience the Helldivers and other Special Operations Groups would receive would be against the BETA alongside the rest of their brethren in Hive Infiltrations. This all changed after The Day occurred. With the USA directly threatened by its neighbors in the north, the Helldivers have been called up to serve from their derelict spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit. Their mission? The infiltration and destruction of a key French military base on the outskirts of Quebec, the new capital of the antagonistic Sixth French Republic. Who will answer the call to arms? With most of the United State's HSSTs out of action or otherwise unable to make the drop point, only a single element of the 47th is capable of making the arduous trip back down to Earth. Aboard the HSST Destroyer Reliance, 2nd Lieutenant Ash West prepares to sortie with the ship's Chief Warrant Officer Vinh Trang, his senior in technical experience but nontheless an enlisted subordinate. His original partner, 2nd Lieutenant Jessica Pierce, was one of the many casualties following the immediate aftermath of The Day. Following SOP meant that West couldn't drop alone, so the Chief volunteered to act as his wingman. The Reliance ''was out of action anyway, so Trang's mechanical expertise and piloting skills were bound to go to waste. Besides, just like every Marine was a Rifleman; every Space Cadet was a Pilot. That would leave Specialists Weaver and Evans onboard the HSST, as there was no way to safely re-enter the atmosphere in the Shells with additional passengers. They would have to survive until the US could figure out how to get back into space and rescue the rest of the Corps. With nowhere to go but down, the two readied themselves to dive feet first into the Hell that their home had turned into. Their choice of flying casket? F-22A Stealth Raptor Helldivers.png|F-22A "Stealth" Raptor, painted with radar-absorbing materials. F-15SE Cutout Helldivers.png|The F-15SE, an effective "chaser" aircraft with a quasi-3rd gen stealth suite. The F-22A Raptor, on permanent loan from the United State's Army for use in the USSC's SOAG's unique mission. Only eight of these 3rd Generation craft were supplied, due to fears of losing such a highly valuable piece of equipment behind enemy lines. Standard Operating Procedure requires pilots who are forced to eject from their F-22As to commence its Self-Destruct Sequence before bailing, in order to prevent the enemy from acquiring the valuable technology hidden within. Alongside the Raptor is the F-15 Silent Eagle, a specialized variant of the widely popular F-15E. Handling its own robust stealth suite along with modernized avionics and electronic systems, this TSF can outmaneuver just about any 2.5th generation TSF in the opposition and give even the newer 3rds a run for their money with a skilled pilot inside. With a fuel tank relatively comparable to the F-22A, the F-15SE acts as an effective chaser aircraft that can accompany the Raptor on long-running missions behind enemy lines, and with its own chassis capable of handling a variety of battlefield roles is capable of keeping up with even the greatest Air Superiority Fighter in the world. And to end the article, a quick blurb from each character to describe a bit about them. ''2nd Lt, Ash West: "The rest of the squad used to ask me why I don't ever smile after I transferred from the regular ODs. Simple fact of the matter is: I don't see anything worth smiling about these days. After I saw the bombs drop on Sado during Iceberg, I knew nothing good was going to come with Babylon. Now I'm stuck flying in a metal box hundreds of miles above the surface of a planet I can't even recognize. Now it really '''does '''feel like we're dropping straight into hell." Chief Warrant Officer, Vinh Trang: "We lost Jessica thanks to a cosmic coin flip. Operation Babylon's mass G-bomb detonation threw a lot of residual energy around, a lot more than we ever could have predicted. It was like an invisible tidal wave smashed against our fleet, blowing us out of formation and jamming every single electronic piece of equipment we had aboard the ship. Most of the HSST's major systems kicked back on without a beat, but a few others were fried from the system shock. '' ''When we finally managed to fix those, Evans was the first of us to remember our other human cargo; by the time we entered the re-entry shell to check on the pilots, it was already too late. The TSFs have their own limited life support system to allow the pilot to breathe without the need for a fully enclosed suit; the system '''should '''have weathered the wave, since it was designed to work even in the aftermath of a nuclear blast. But I guess Jessica just wasn't that lucky. Now, it's just Ash. Poor kid's acting like he isn't even fazed. From what I saw of Iceberg, I'm not sure if I should be surprised by his lack of emotional response. Regardless of how he acts though, I know those two were close. ODs always are with their Element partner, since it's just the two of them in the shell until they finally get the go ahead to land. We just now received word from NORAD that the French have raided Washington D.C. and the rest of the East Coast. They want us to go in and teach them some manners. Ash can't go alone, and I'm the only one of us in the HSST's crew that has any notable TSF piloting hours under my belt. '' ''Looks like it's finally time to earn the name, Helldiver." Category:Blog posts